Does a business blog really grow your business? How often should you post? Business blogging is a powerful marketing tool that builds trust with your audience and generates brand awareness. Sounds great, right? Except for that one little manner of figuring out how to actually do it. You have questions and I have answers! In this article, I’m tackling the top ten business blogging FAQs I’ve heard from clients over the years.

Your Burning Business Blogging FAQs

Whether you’re a blogger, business owner, small biz marketer, or creative entrepreneur looking to beef up your blog game, let my experiences be your guide.

Without further ado, let’s dive right in!

Q1: How Often Should I Blog?

Perhaps the biggest of the business blogging FAQs I receive is how often to post to a business blog. Ideally? It’s important to stay relevant, which means posting 2-3 times a week. In reality, blogging takes a tremendous amount of time.

Writing the post is the first step, then you’ll need to optimize for SEO, add images, and promote on social media. Minutes pour into hours and before you know it, you’ve exhausted your day on a partially completed post.

Many people churn out substandard posts to meet their deadlines, but I don’t recommend it. I’d choose one solid post over three mediocre ones any day of the week. Why?

Because bad blogging can damage your business, rather than improving it. Instead of spreading yourself thin, focus on writing the best content possible.

Answer: One blog post a week is a great springboard. Choose quality over quantity. Over time, you can build up to 2-3 posts.

Q2: How Long Should A Blog Post Be?

There are multiple opinions circulating about this topic, but I’m going to speak from my experience when answering these business blogging FAQs. For SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes, a blog post should be a bare minimum of 300 words.

Should you only post 300-word blog posts? Not exactly. Recent data highlights that search engines now prioritize long-form content (3,000-5,000 words). As you can grasp, that’s quite a gap.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to go all Tolstoy and churn out a novel in every post. The key here, as with most things, is to find a balance.

Word count isn’t everything. Anyone can whip up a 3,000-word piece of garbage. Will it rank simply because it’s 3,000 words? Not a chance. Conversely, writing a 1,000-word post on the same subject that is easy to read, educational, and rich with information will perform better.

Answer: Ideal blog post length is 1,000-2,000 words, but words aren’t the only marker for a successful post.

Words won’t get far without optimization, which leads us to the next of our business blogging FAQs.

Q3: How Important Is SEO?

To put it simply: very. I could write 10,000 words to explain SEO, but instead, I wrote a straightforward guide to help you. What is SEO and why is it important for your business blog?  Here’s the short answer: without SEO, your website (and business blog) won’t bring in web traffic. Use SEO best practices, and you’ll accrue organic traffic.

The importance of SEO blogging is undeniable, as proven by these stats:

• An active company blog (posting 1-3x a week) brings in 67% more leads
• Websites with a blog receive 434% more indexed pages on search engines
• Organic SEO gets almost 6x more hits than paid ads

Ok, so the data makes it pretty clear that SEO is important, but here’s the kicker:

Blogging is part of SEO! Mind blown yet? If not, we still have a ways to go, so hang with me. When you blog, you bolster your website’s positioning on search engines. Still, it’s not enough to simply write and hit publish.

Answer: Good blogging requires solid SEO, and every post should be optimized.

Before you even think about hitting publish, include the following:

• Internal links to your web pages or other blog posts
• An optimized meta title and description with the post’s primary keyword
• Naturally placed keywords throughout the post (don’t keyword stuff, as Google will penalize you). Write first, optimize second
• Include 2-3 optimized images containing alt-text
• Hit the blog length sweet spot, around 1,000-2,000 words
• Include headings and subheadings

Q4: Where Should I Create My Business Blog?

I’ll keep this one simple: about 77 out of 150 million blogs use WordPress. This means about half of the blogs online are published through WordPress. The other half is distributed across sites like Squarespace and Wix. The decision is up to personal preference.

Personally, I’ve written in WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix. My preference is WordPress because it’s streamlined and universal.

That said, I don’t like using WordPress for my web design, which is why I recently switched over to Showit hosting with WordPress blogging.

Planning to DIY your business blog?

I’ve got you covered! Download my free guide to business blogging for beginners. I walk you through seven steps to starting a successful blog that’ll grow your business, increase visibility, and increase sales conversions.

Grab the guide here >>> How To Start A Business Blog in 7 Steps!

Q5: What Topics Should I Write About On A Business Blog?

Of all the business blogging FAQs I get, this is my favorite. Figuring out what to blog about feels overwhelming, but it’s quite simple. Instead of thinking about all the things you want to write about, think about your target customer. Ask yourself, what do they need from you?

More often than not, they need informative solutions to a problem they are having. To get the juices flowing, write an introductory blog post about your business.

Then go deeper.

Answer: Choose engaging topics that spark your reader’s interest, provide value, and aren’t overly saturated.

For example, instead of writing a post about business blogging tips, I choose to answer FAQs because I felt it would be more helpful to readers and less competitive on search engines.

You want your content to be evergreen; it should hold up long term and continue to provide relevant information to your audience.

Here are some popular blogging prompts:

• FAQs (like this post)
• Listicles, i.e. “The X Best Moisturizers For Dry Skin”
• Industry commentary: Chime in on current events
• Behind the scenes of your business

When in doubt, write what you know and love. Of course, this becomes more complicated if you hate writing.

Q6: What If I Am Not A Good Writer?

Here’s the truth: a large majority of blog posts aren’t exactly well-written. I’m not encouraging you to embrace bad writing, which will negatively impact your business.

That said, writing is like any skill; the more you practice, the better you’ll get. In the beginning, browse some blogs that you love and write down what elements you like.

Is the writing style conversational, informal, or academic? Observe aspects of the writing that you love, and incorporate those tactics into your own writing.

Answer: You don’t have to be an amazing writer to be an amazing blogger. Instead, you should provide informative content that’s triple-checked in Grammarly.

If you absolutely hate writing, consider outsourcing your blogging to a freelance writer. Not to burst your bubble, but you’d be surprised at how many blogs are ghostwritten.

You may have even come across my words under another name without knowing it. Point being: if writing stresses you out, there is no shame in offloading that task.

• 

• 

Q7: How Many Blog Posts Before Traffic Grows?

Several clients have approached me about writing a chunk of blog posts before launching their business blog. It’s a smart idea to craft a batch of informative content to establish the blog as a reputable resource. While I won’t dissuade clients from this approach, I like to be transparent in the results.

Creating a business blog isn’t necessarily about the volume of content off the bat. As with most things, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Answer: Instead of asking how many posts to write, ask how many weeks, months, or years it’ll take to bring in traffic. There’s nothing wrong with launching a big batch of content with your new blog. However, don’t expect to suddenly garner massive traffic.

The process of building a successful blog takes time. That said, there are things you can do to expedite the results.

1. Write 2-3 blog posts a week for one year
2. Incorporate SEO best practices in every post (backlinking, subheadings, keywords, readability, etc.)
3. ALWAYS prioritize quality content over a bunch of fluffy posts
4. Promote the heck out of your blog posts on social media
5. Sync your site with Google Analytics and Search Console to track your visitors’ behaviors
6. Stalk your competitors to see
   • How often they are posting
   • The quality of their content
   • Gaps in content you can fill in on your blog
7. Be patient. In the words of Kevin Costner’s subconscious in Field Of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”

Q8: When Is The Best Time To Post?

The answer to this question depends on your business location. In general, you want to post when your audience is the most active. For example, you don’t want to post in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep. Instead, post content when people are most interactive with your content.

How will you know the best time to post? Take a look at your Google analytics and website metrics. When are you getting the most hits to your site? That’s probably a good window to publish new blog content.

Answer: Monday morning, 11 a.m. PST is the best time to publish a post to your blog to get the most traffic and engagement, according to Kissmetrics.

Q9: Is Blogging Worth It In 2020?

Hell yes, it is! If you build a business blog that resonates with your target audience, there’s really nothing holding you back. Sure, there are pros and cons of business blogging: you have competition and you’ll need a strategy to succeed, but it’s possible. I’ve worked with many clients who just started a business blog and are already ranking on page one. Don’t view competition as an excuse for inaction. Instead, write original, compelling content.

When I first started my travel blog, I thought to hit publish meant firing off a post into the ether of the internet. Now, with SEO and writing tools in my pocket, I know what it takes for a blog post to shine.

As with anything, there is a learning curve, but with consistency, you’ll gain traction. If you have any doubts of the merit of blogging, think about this:

Answer: Where does everyone go to find answers? Google. And what does Google pull up to answer your questions? Blog posts. Yes, blogging is worth it in 2020.

Convinced? Good. Now, starting a business blog is the first step. You’ll need solid SEO and a content strategy to start bringing in traffic.

Q10: How Will My Business Blog Stand Out From The Crowd?

There are millions of blogs online, but that doesn’t mean yours can’t shine. In order to have a successful business blog, you need a content strategy. Rather than posting when inspiration hits, take a tactical approach to blog writing.

Here are strategies you can use to build a successful business blog:

• Create a content calendar for free on Asana or Trello
• Write 2-3 blog posts per week (a weekly post is fine when you first start a business blog)
• Post relevant content to your audience
• Answer the most popular questions circulating in your niche
• Use SEO best practices
• Write authentic, original, comprehensive content. No fluff, no blueprints of other posts. Add your personality, take a fresh angle, and write informative, engaging copy
• Share posts on your social media channels

Time To Start A Business Blog!

There you have it! I hope this information helps guide you as you navigate the waters of business blogging! Of course, these are the most common Business Blogging FAQs, but if you have any further questions, reach out or drop your question in the comments.

It can feel intimidating to start a company blog, but you’ll gain traction with consistency. When in doubt, learn SEO, write what you know, and follow through with your content calendar.

When you put these principles in play, you’ll bring in more web traffic, increase brand exposure, build an engaged audience, and grow your biz!